Your mosquitoes, your problem

Peter St. Louis, crew supervisor in Kinston Public Services’ environmental services decision, uses this specially-equipped truck to spray mosquito repellant throughout designated areas of the city. The orange tank on the left holds the liquid that creates the vapor spray, and the red container houses gasoline that powers the engine. The truck operates between 3-6 a.m.

Janet S. Carter / The Free Press

By Wes Wolfe / Staff Writer

Published: Monday, July 14, 2014 at 07:44 PM.

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For besieged localities like many in Eastern North Carolina, the state officials have basically said, “Your mosquitoes, your problem.”

The General Assembly axed the state’s public health pest management program in 2011. This year, Gov. Pat McCrory and Republican leaders in the state House of Representatives and state Senate each unveiled budgets without state funding for mosquito control.

A state fund that existed for decades to assist localities sported numbers as high as $2.1 million in 1981 and came in around $1.2 million for FY 1995-96. From 2001-2008 the fund remained in excess of half a million dollars.

Dennis Salmen, retired environmental health director for Mecklenburg County and considered an expert in his field, said the periods of 1995-2000 and after the first West Nile virus outbreak kept mosquito control relevant from a state perspective.

“Of those five hurricanes, four of those created substantial — moderate to extreme — flooding in disaster conditions in Eastern North Carolina,” Salmen said. “And the result of all four of those five hurricanes, generally: greatly increased mosquito control, reduction in the base rate of the mosquito populations in Eastern North Carolina and fortunately did not result in mosquito-borne disease of any appreciable amounts.

“(That) is the primary mission for us all the way across the board. This is primarily for public health purposes.”

For besieged localities like many in Eastern North Carolina, the state officials have basically said, “Your mosquitoes, your problem.”

The General Assembly axed the state’s public health pest management program in 2011. This year, Gov. Pat McCrory and Republican leaders in the state House of Representatives and state Senate each unveiled budgets without state funding for mosquito control.

A state fund that existed for decades to assist localities sported numbers as high as $2.1 million in 1981 and came in around $1.2 million for FY 1995-96. From 2001-2008 the fund remained in excess of half a million dollars.

Dennis Salmen, retired environmental health director for Mecklenburg County and considered an expert in his field, said the periods of 1995-2000 and after the first West Nile virus outbreak kept mosquito control relevant from a state perspective.

“Of those five hurricanes, four of those created substantial — moderate to extreme — flooding in disaster conditions in Eastern North Carolina,” Salmen said. “And the result of all four of those five hurricanes, generally: greatly increased mosquito control, reduction in the base rate of the mosquito populations in Eastern North Carolina and fortunately did not result in mosquito-borne disease of any appreciable amounts.

“(That) is the primary mission for us all the way across the board. This is primarily for public health purposes.”

West Nile arrived not too long after that, in 2001 and 2002.

But there was no reason to fund the PHPM program once legislators set it up to shut down.

There was only $185,992 available as a resource for the 70 or so mosquito control programs in FY 2013-14.

The City of Kinston, through its public services department, received grants from the mosquito control fund for years, even as those grants shrunk each fiscal year.

“Last year’s budget (that ended June 30), we were expecting $2,800,” Kinston Public Services Director Rhonda Barwick said. “And I know since I’ve been with Public Services, I have seen as much as $5,000-$6,000. But we have seen it dwindle of the years that I’ve been here.”

She added KPS received $4,000 in FY 2012-13, and anticipated receiving another $2,800 for FY 2014-15. Overall, though, that amounts to about 4.5 percent of the total vector control budget, which covers management and control of disease-carrying creatures.

“We adopted for this fiscal year, FY ’15, we have proposed to spend $62,000 on vector control,” Barwick said. “Now, that’s not all mosquitoes – that’s for the work we do for rodents and that kind of thing.”

The garbage fees paid by city customers are designated to the KPS environmental services division, which houses the vector control program.

Ultimately, both Barwick and Salmen said at this point, with state funding at such a low level compared to years past, impact on localities should be minimal.

“Every bit helps, and we’re glad to get it, but what we’ll have to do, we’ll have to make up for that $3,000 with revenue that we already have,” Barwick said.

Wes Wolfe can be reached at 252-559-1075 and Wes.Wolfe@Kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter at @WolfeReports.

Breakout Box
State mosquito control funding available for request by localities, by year